2. (def 3). 3. Rhetoric. a rapid transition, as from one subject to another. 4. Physics. a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle. /mɪˈtæstəsɪs/noun (pl) -ses (-ˌsiːz) 1. (pathol) the spreading of a disease, esp cancer cells, from one part of the body to another 2. a transformation or change, as in rhetoric, from one point to another 3. a rare word for metabolism n.

1570s, originally in rhetoric, from Late Latin metastasis “transition,” from Greek metastasis “a removing, removal; migration; a changing; change, revolution,” from methistanai “to remove, change,” from meta- “over, across” (see meta-) + histanai “to place, cause to stand,” from PIE root *sta- “to stand” (see stet). A rhetorical term in Late Latin for “a sudden transition in subjects,” medical use for “shift of disease from one part of the body to another” dates from 1660s in English. Related: Metastatic.

metastasis me·tas·ta·sis (mə-tās’tə-sĭs) n. pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-sēz’)

met’a·stat’ic (mět’ə-stāt’ĭk) adj. metastasis (mə-tās’tə-sĭs) A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.

grammar Strictly, a variable used in metasyntax, but often used for any name used in examples and understood to stand for whatever thing is under discussion, or any random member of a class of things under discussion. The word foo is the canonical example. To avoid confusion, hackers never (well, hardly ever) use “foo” or […]

grammar Syntax used to describe syntax. The best known example is BNF and its variants such as EBNF. A metasyntactic variable is a variable used in metasyntax. (1999-04-06)

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